1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a mattress structured to effectively and comfortably support a patient during a period of recovery from surgery or other invasive procedures, wherein the mattress comprises a support platform having an opening formed therein and disposed, dimensioned, and configured to at least partially receive and protect a predetermined portion of a patient""s body, which is directly related to the surgical procedure, such as prostate surgery, from which the patient is recovering. The predetermined body portion, and particularly any external body parts associated therewith, are maintained out of forced engagement or supported contact with adjacent portions of the support platform or other objects.
2. Description of the Related Art
Virtually all health care facilities including hospitals, clinics, out-patient emergency rooms, etc. utilize substantially conventional mattresses intended for use with a hospital bed, gurney, stretcher, etc. These medical-type mattress are typically designed to include an elongated support platform of generally standard length and width, dependent upon whether the support platform is to be mounted on a hospital bed or gurney, stretcher, etc. More specifically, conventional hospital mattresses, particularly of the type designed to be mounted on an electrically powered, mechanically adjustable hospital bed have a length of substantially 80 inches and a somewhat standard width or transverse dimension of substantially 36 inches. The support platform normally includes two primary outer walls, each of which may include a supporting surface. One of the supporting surfaces is disposed in supporting relation to the frame of the hospital bed and the other is disposed in supporting relation to the patient. In addition, the interior structures of such mattresses typically include a number of coils or springs alone or in combination with a compressible, foam or other cushion like material, in order to provide a predetermined amount of support to the patient""s body while at the same time allowing the mattress to be selectively disposed between a complete horizontal or flat orientation and a partially inclined orientation. The latter orientation of the support platform is typically defined by the head or proximal end of the mattress being oriented at any one of a plurality of inclined angles, which serves to orient the head, shoulders, and generally upper torso region of the patient""s body in an upwardly, partially inclined position. This inclined orientation of the upper portion of the patient""s body is frequently accomplished to make the patient more comfortable or to allow the patient to better view his or her surroundings and to communicate with medical personnel, visitors, etc. There are, however, a few situations wherein the patient is instructed to maintain as much as possible, the upwardly, inclined orientation described above, in order to help alleviate swelling, assist with drainage of a wound, etc.
As mentioned above, the mattresses used in hospitals or like health care facilities usually comprise a standard structure which is intended to provide adequate support to the patient while resting or sleeping in a fully reclined position or in an at least partially inclined position, as set forth above. However, it is believed that medical institutions have never provided a mattress or like support platform, which is structurally adapted to more readily accommodate certain medical conditions for which the patient is being treated.
More specifically, patients which have been involved in surgery or other invasive procedures frequently must remain in the hospital or like medical facility during a somewhat prolonged period of recovery. During such a recovery period the patient often experiences considerable pain or discomfort, directly associated with the surgical procedure. Such discomfort is experienced until the healing of the patient""s body progresses at least to a sufficient degree to where pain is no longer an acute problem. In typical fashion, a patient recovering from surgery is placed on a conventional hospital mattress and oriented in either a fully reclined or partially reclined position, as set forth above. However, it is well known by medical personnel that forced engagement with the supporting surface of the mattress or direct contact of certain portions of the patient""s body, which are directly associated with the attendant surgical procedure, frequently results in considerable pain. Because of the generally standardized design of medical type mattresses, as set forth above, the patient is forced to be oriented into a position which almost certainly results in added and oftentimes unnecessary discomfort. This is particularly true when the portion of the patient""s body directly related to the surgery comes in direct supported engagement with an adjacently disposed portion of the support platform of the medical mattress on which the patient is disposed.
As set forth above, a large number of hospital beds are electrically powered and capable of being selectively adjusted, such that the head or proximal end thereof may be oriented at an upwardly inclined angle. The adjustment of a hospital bed in the manner set forth above, is normally done to make the patient more comfortable. However, the movement of the support platform of the mattress into and out of the partially inclined position can cause forced engagement or contact of the support platform with the portion of the patient""s body associated with the surgery, thereby adding to the extreme discomfort of the patient, as set forth above. Movement or adjustment of the hospital bed may be particularly problematic when, during a recuperative period of the patient, he or she is required to be periodically or continuously oriented in the aforementioned upwardly inclined position.
At least one particular medical condition following a surgical procedure frequently requires a recovery period prone to the problems of the type set forth above. In particular, it is commonly recognized by the medical profession that prostate cancer in middle age to elderly male patients occurs with such frequency to affect a significant portion of the male population. While treatment of prostate cancer frequently includes the use of chemotherapy or radiation, prostate surgery, including the removal of the prostate gland, is oftentimes a preferred method of treatment. It is equally well accepted in the medical profession that patients having undergone prostate surgery must be subjected to a recovery period involving extensive bed rest. Because of the nature of the surgical procedure involved in the removal of the prostate gland, the associated area of the patient""s body, generally the groin area, is subjected to extreme pain when disposed into supported engagement with any object, such as and including a hospital mattress on which the patient is supported. The patient""s discomfort is often increased by the fact that the patient is usually instructed to maintain himself in an at least partially inclined orientation, with the head, shoulders, back and generally upper torso region of the patient""s body being supported in the aforementioned angularly inclined orientation. More in particular, the utilization of a conventional hospital mattress mounted on an electrically powered, mechanically adjustable hospital bed necessitates the physical, mechanical movement of the head portion of the mattress into the angularly inclined position, with that movement causing some compression of the mattress at a mid-region thereof. It is almost precisely at that general location on the mattress, however, that the wounded area of a patient recovering from prostate surgery rests, such that the movement of the mattress and/or the orientation or adjustment of the patient""s body thereon, will invariably subject the patient to extreme pain, and most especially during the time period immediately following prostate surgery.
Accordingly, there is a significant need in the medical field for an improved mattress assembly, and in particular, one which is specifically designed, dimensioned and configured to effectively and comfortably support a patient during the period of recovery following certain surgeries or other medical procedures. If any such improved mattress assembly were developed, it should enable predetermined portions or areas of a patient""s body to be maintained in a generally protected position, while adequately and securely supporting a remainder or majority of the patient""s body in a comfortable manner. If any such improved medical-type mattress assembly were developed, it should also have an overall dimension and configuration which substantially corresponds to a conventional hospital or medical type mattress so that it can thereby be used with conventional hospital beds, gurneys, stretchers, etc. The structural features of any such improved mattress assembly would preferably also be such as to eliminate the need for movable adjustment of the mattress, with the patient supported thereon.
In addition, the structural design of any such improved mattress assembly should be capable of being easily modified or adapted for supporting a patient in a conventional manner, such as for a patient who has not undergone prostate surgery or another invasive medical procedures. Therefore, the structure and design of such an improved medical-type mattress should be capable of being converted in an easy and efficient manner and in a minimum amount of time by attending medical personnel in order that the patient may be properly supported in a preferred orientation to facilitate his recovery without experiencing undo pain or discomfort, particularly in an area or portion of the patient""s body associated with a specific surgical procedure.
The present invention is designed to address these and other needs which exist in the art and relates to a mattress assembly for use with a conventional hospital bed. The mattress assembly of the present invention is structured to effectively and comfortably support a patient during a period of recovery from surgery, and specifically, but not exclusively, wherein the patient has recently undergone prostate surgery. During the recovery period immediately following a variety of different surgical procedures, including prostate surgery in particular, the patient is subjected to bed rest and is instructed to maintain and may even be required to maintain a partially inclined position, dependent upon the specific surgical procedure involved. During recovery, the portion or area of the patient""s body most directly associated with the surgical procedure is normally subjected to varying amounts of pain or discomfort. In prostate surgery, wherein the prostate gland is completely or partially removed, the groin area of the patient""s body is particularly sensitive and the source of considerable pain, particularly in situations where external body parts, including the genitals of the patient are forced into contact or supported engagement with an adjacent object, such as the mattress on which the patient is supported. The pain to which the associated parts of the patient""s body is subjected, particularly when the supporting hospital mattress is adjusted so as to orient the patient in the preferred upwardly inclined angular position, is extreme. When the patient is so inclined, the general area of the groin is disposed adjacent to the transitional part of the mattress, where the angularly inclined head portion joins with the horizontally oriented remainder of the mattress. As set forth above, forced movement of the mattress into contact with predetermined portions of the patient""s body, such as the general groin area, subjects the patient to severe and unnecessary pain.
In an effort to overcome the significant discomfort to which the patient is subjected during the recuperative period immediately following prostate surgery, the present invention is directed to a mattress assembly including a support platform of generally conventional or standard longitudinal and transverse dimensions, and as such, the support platform will preferably be readily used with a conventional hospital bed and/or bed frame. However, the support platform is structured to permit the patient to assume a preferred orientation so as to facilitate recovery, and yet, eliminate or significantly reduce the pain or discomfort experienced by the patient while he is subjected to an extended period of bed rest. More specifically, the aforementioned support platform may be formed of a compressible foam or other applicable material capable of providing adequate support to a majority of the patient""s body.
The mattress assembly of the present invention preferably also comprises a mattress cover or casing disposed in at least substantially, surrounding and enclosing relation to the exterior surface of the support platform. The mattress cover or casing is structured to protect the support platform against contamination or soiling from bodily fluids, spillage, etc. and may itself be removable and possibly, washable as well. The protective mattress casing is preferably formed from a high strength, durable, liquid impermeable material of the type normally found in use in medical facilities. In addition, the material from which the mattress casing or cover assembly is formed may also have additional physical properties, such as being electrically conductive, flame retardant, antibacterial, non-allergenic, etc. By way of example, materials from which the casing may be formed are commercially available under the trade names to STAPH-CHECK(trademark) or ELECTROLITE(trademark), both of which are produced by Herculite Product, Inc. of York Pa. of course, other materials having certain medically desired performance or operational properties may be utilized.
In order to overcome the above set forth disadvantages and provide secure and comfortable support of a patient, particularly during the period of recovery from at least certain types of surgical procedures, the support platform of the mattress assembly includes an opening formed at least partially therein, although in certain preferred embodiments to be described in greater detail hereinafter, the opening extends completely therethrough. The opening is disposed in aligned and at least partially receiving relation to a predetermined portion or area of the patient""s body, such as that portion which was directly involved in a surgical procedure from which the patient is recuperating. As one example, prostate surgery involves a procedure in or about the general groin area, including the genitals and/or the surrounding or associated body parts in the vicinity of the groin. As set forth above, following that type of surgery, almost any engagement or contact whatsoever with this area of the patient""s body results in extreme pain. Accordingly, the support platform of the present invention preferably includes the aforementioned opening being disposed in at least partially aligned relation to the general groin area of the patient""s body, so as to receive the external body parts, and in particular, so as to maintain at least the patient""s genital area out of forced engagement or supported contact with a remainder of the support platform.
In at least one embodiment of the present invention, the support platform includes an open area of access which establishes communication between an interior of the opening and an exterior of the support platform. This open area of access may take the form of an elongated, slot-like configured passage or alternatively, may comprise a somewhat enlarged access channel, disposed to extend between a periphery of the opening and a longitudinal side of the support platform. In either of the above noted embodiments, the open area of access is sufficiently dimensioned for the passage therethrough of certain medical equipment or instrumentation that may be required or otherwise deemed important to the recuperation of the patient, such as, but not limited to, catheters, drainage tubes, etc.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the mattress assembly may also include a supportive insert positioned at least partially within the aforementioned access channel. The supportive insert is structured and disposed to provide adequate support to portions of the patient""s body other than the predetermined body portions directly associated with the surgical procedure. As such, the supportive insert is preferably formed from a foam or other compressible material similar or equivalent to the material from which the mattress is formed. The supportive insert also preferably includes a protective outer casing or cover assembly made from the durable, liquid impermeable material from which the protective casing for the remainder of the mattress is formed. In addition, the supportive insert is structured to be selectively positioned into and out of either a supportive position or a non-supportive position. More specifically, the supportive position of the insert is defined by it being disposed in substantially closing relation to the access channel and in supporting relation to the patient. The non-supportive position of the insert is defined by the insert being removed from the access channel so as to effectively open the access channel in order to allow passage of any medical instrumentation or equipment therethrough into and out of the interior of the opening and in applied engagement with the patient""s body. As also set forth hereinafter in greater detail, the supportive insert may be removably mounted on the support platform or alternatively may be pivotally or otherwise movably connected thereto.
The support platform of the mattress assembly according to the present invention will preferably also include an inclined portion provided for the support of the patient in an upwardly inclined position. The inclined portion extends from a proximal end of the support platform, preferably corresponding to the patient""s head and chest area, continuously to a portion along the length of the support platform which is located a spaced distance from the correspondingly positioned periphery of the opening. More specifically, the inclined portion preferably joins the remainder of the support assembly at a spaced distance from the periphery of the opening, so as to provide support for the buttocks or lower back area of the patient. Concurrently, the patient""s head, shoulders, and a major portion of the upper torso is supported in an angular inclined orientation on the remainder of the inclined portion of the support platform.
It is pointed out that the precise dimensions of each of the preferred segments or portions of the support platform according to the present invention may vary to at least some degree. However, in a most preferred embodiment, corresponding to the generally standard length of 80 inches for most hospital mattresses, the inclined portion of the support platform extends continuously along a length of the support platform from the proximal end towards, but in spaced relation to the opening, for a distance of generally about 37 inches or approximately 46 percent of the length of the support platform. The support platform thereafter continues at a substantially horizontal or level orientation from end of the inclined portion and to the opening for a distance of approximately 7 inches or between 8 and 9 percent of the length of the support platform, and similarly, the support platform continues in such substantially level orientation for generally about 12 inches corresponding the opening therein. The opposite or distal end of the support platform is also supported in a substantially horizontal orientation and extends continuously from the distal end to a correspondingly disposed periphery of the opening, a distance of approximately 24 inches to 25 inches or substantially 30 percent of the length of the support platform. In at least one most preferred embodiment of the present invention, the opening in the support platform has a multi-sided configuration and measures approximately 12 inches by 12 inches. Further, the opening is disposed in equally spaced relation between the opposite longitudinal sides of the support platform. Since the support platform has a standard transverse dimension of substantially 36 inches, the opening is centered between the longitudinal sides, but in somewhat closer proximity to the distal end of the support platform.
It is emphasized that while the aforementioned inclined potion may be incorporated in at least one embodiment of the support platform of the present invention, at least one additional embodiment comprises the support platform having a substantially flat configuration extending along its entire length. The opening formed in this embodiment of the support platform has either a continuously closed configuration or an at least partially open configuration defining the aforementioned open access area for the placement and removal of medical equipment or instrumentation associated with the patient""s care. In this latter embodiment the disposition, configuration and dimension of the opening relative to the remaining part of the support platform is substantially the same. However, minor structural modifications to the opening or to other portions of the support platform may be made in order to accommodate the support of a patient recuperating from a surgical or invasive procedure, other than prostate surgery. Such structural modifications are intended to be included within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more clear when the drawings as well as the detailed description are taken into consideration.